"Not publicly, true, but privately he has confided in me that he strongly opposes the Wizard of Oz." her voice was calm and clear and she was completely in control. There was no quiver to her voice, no hint of her being anxious or emotional.

Jackyl studied her, not used to her calm. "You said he doesn't discuss politics often. What brought on the sudden change in him?"

She shrugged, not really having an answer for that. "I suppose he finally decided he trusted me enough to say something like that. I guess it finally came up." So what if it weren't true, if he never said it. He always seemed sympathetic enough. And then there was finally the nugget of truth that he had mentioned in passing. "And the Animals have equal rights on Arjiki lands, where he is the ultimate authority."

That finally caused a flutter amongst those sitting, watching, enjoying the drama. "Is that true?" someone asked, echoed by pleasant surprise from the others... and unpleasant surprise from those tired of waiting and wanting to do something.

Jackyl raised his hand to stop the questioning. "No reason not to believe Fae, now. Of course it's the truth." He glanced back out at the others, clearly only acting the spokesperson for his superiors. "And that's good news, everything should be fine," she gave a fraction of a smile, stepping away and ready to head back to her seat. "However, you say that he doesn't want to oppose the Wizard?"

Her calm and confidence faded. "What? Well, yes. He would prefer to stay out of it."

"Then get him out of here. Now." At her shocked expression, he clarified, "He might get in the way if and when a revolution comes. If he stays out West, with his tribe, well who cares, everything should be fine. But if he stays here, he might wind up on the wrong side of things, we might be forced to... well, make sure he doesn't wind up on the wrong side."

She nodded, refusing to break in front of them all- she knew this was coming, after all. "Of course," she said, feeling her heartbreak and tears prick at her eyes, but she didn't give in to it.

"Elphaba?" Once again, Avaric didn't bother knocking on her door. She didn't yell at him, though, not having the energy to waste. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Peachy," she said, rolling her eyes and laying back against the couch which she had crashed on when she had gotten home. "Just fucking fantastic."

He hesitated in the doorway for a second before sitting down beside her on the couch. They didn't touch, but could have if they'd wanted to. "Why are you so upset? You knew he wasn't yours to keep, you knew that."

"I know," she said, studying her feet. "I guess you know you were right. I do love him. Aren't you glad you were right?"

"Of course not, do you think I wanted to be right?" She didn't respond. "God, that was the last thing I wanted, was to be right."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

She finally looked up at him. "Why did you want to be wrong?"

He answered slowly, weighing every word. "I knew that if you fell in love with him you would get hurt one way or another. Look, why are you so hung up on this, you knew this wasn't going to last forever, you knew he was going to have to leave you one way or another. Why are you so upset? This was coming."

She shrugged. "I thought he would just leave on his own, I wouldn't have to make him leave. I thought..." she trailed off with a shrug. "Sometimes I wonder if he loved me, I mean he seemed to love this me, what I showed him and some of that, most of that really was me. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if he knew me completely. If he knew my every secret, every facet of my life, would he have loved me?"

"I can't answer that question, Elphaba. Is that what this is about?"

She didn't answer him or even look at him. "I know I'm going to lose him, I knew that. But sometimes I wonder what would have happened if he knew the real me. I don't want him to leave his wife and definitely not his children- but would he have left them for me? Could he have loved me that much if he knew the real me? Or if he didn't have his family, would he want me then? I know it's insane to think about it, but still. I wonder if the circumstances were changed, but we were still us, if we could've been something."

"I know, I know. But you have to think, this is the best way this could've ended. If you think about it, you saved his life. He gets to go home to his family and his tribe because you loved him."

He thought she almost smiled there, but it vanished. "So you're not still mad at me for lying?"

"I was only angry with you because it seemed like you were well on your way to getting yourself into trouble."

"Alright, what's gotten into you? Where is this kinder, gentler Asshole coming from?"

He laughed, glad to see a little spark in her. "Who knows? I'm going to go," he said as he got up and walked toward her door, but then he hesitated. "Hey Elphaba?"

"Yeah?"

"I... never mind. Get some sleep, OK?" He was gone within seconds, not giving her a chance to ask him what he was going to say. For a few minutes she sat there and wondered about it, as well as his change in attitude, but her mind shifted back to Fiyero and she collapsed into her bed, falling into a deep sleep.